A True Gryffindor
by IamCharlie
Summary: Join Albus Potter and his friends as they start their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


Albus Potter waved out the window to his father until the Hogwarts Express was too far away for him to be seen anymore. He slumped into his seat and looked around the train compartment. His cousin, Rose, was sitting across from him, smiling brightly humming a tuneless song. His older brother, James, already had his wand out and was making his owl change colors. Albus' owl, Apollo, was hooting softly and trying to stretch his wings in his small cage.

"I'm going to find the other Gryffindor third years," James declared, and left the compartment.

Albus looked at his cousin and sighed loudly. "I hope I'm in Gryffindor too."

"Me too!" Rose practically shouted it. She noticed Albus' worried look and tried to comfort him. "Come on, Al, you know you'll be in Gryffindor. I, uh, overheard you're dad saying that the sorting hat takes your opinion into account so I wouldn't be too worried."

"Yeah, but James said—"

"James says a lot of things," Rose countered, "and I doubt half of them are true."

Rose, like her mother, was very smart and had a certain air of certainty in her voice that made Albus calm down a bit. She pushed her fiery read hair behind her ears and pulled out her short wand.

"This year is going to be amazing," Rose stated. "I've already been practicing. Look! _Wingardium Leviosa_." She flicked her wand and the magazine she was aiming at lifting off the seat a few inches then fell back down.

"I bet that's better than I can do."  
"Well, try it!" Rose said excitedly.

Albus pulled out his wand. It was an eleven inch oak, with a dragon heartstring core. He aimed it carefully at the magazine, "_Wingardium Leviosa_." The magazine flew across the compartment and nearly hit Rose in the face.

"Oops, sorry Rosie. Guess I don't know my own strength." He smiled meekly and put down his wand.

The compartment door slid open and a pale blonde boy stood in the doorway. "Hello," he said awkwardly, "do you mind if I sit with you?"

Rose recognized the boy from the Station and nodded.

The boy sat down next to Albus and held out his hand. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Albus Potter," Albus said as he shook Scorpius' hand. "And this is my cousin, Rose Weasley."

Scorpius gave a polite smile and a nod in Rose's direction.

"So, uh, what House do you want to be in?" Rose asked conversationally.

"Slytherin. How about you?"

"Gryffindor," Albus and Rose said together.

"Like your parents, I assume."

They nodded.

"My family has been in Slytherin for generations," Scorpius said matter-of-factly. "Dad says he'll disown me if I'm in Gryffindor."

Albus stared at him. "Really?"

Scorpius laughed. "Nah, he was only joking." He stared out the window for a moment then said in a more serious tone, "I'd actually almost like to be in Gryffindor. I'm only 11 years old and my dad has all the expectations for me. It would be fun to give him a slap in the face. I'm speaking figuratively, of course."

Rose was about to say something but got interrupted by an old witch shouting, "Anything from the trolley? Anything from the trolley?"

All three kids jumped up, bought chocolate frogs for 1 sickle each, and then sat back down.

"Viktor Krum," Albus read aloud from his newly acquired trading card, "International Quidditch player and Durmstrang Champion for the Triwizard Tournament in 2004."

"Viktor Krum? He's my mum's ex-boyfriend!" Rose exclaimed.

Albus smirked. "Aunt Hermoine dated an International Quidditch player? Yeah right!"

"It's true! Ask her."

"Albus Dumbledore again," Scorpius said, "I've got at least fifty of him." He held up his Chocolate Frog card, and Albus grabbed it from him.

"I'm named after him," Albus said, trying to match Scorpius' bored tone.

"NO WAY!" Scorpius shouted.

Scorpius was even louder than they thought. A Ravenclaw Prefect looked into their compartment. "Everything all right?" he asked. They all nodded. "You kids better get your school robes on; we're less than a half hour off from Hogwarts." He left.

As Rose had been in her robes since seven o'clock in the morning, she picked up the copy of _The Quibbler_ Albus had accidentally flung at her earlier while the boys changed.

Apollo hooted loudly, once again reminding Albus that he wanted to get out and fly around.

"Sorry, Apollo," muttered Albus. His nerves were mounting. Less than an hour from now he would be sorted into a House. He looked at Rose, who had resumed humming the same tuneless song as before. At lease _she_ wasn't nervous.


End file.
